


Lingering Presence

by shugarcone



Category: Half-Life VR But The AI Is Self Aware
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Blood, Canon-Typical Behavior, Canon-Typical Violence, Coughing, Emetophobia, Hanahaki Disease, It Gets Worse Before It Gets Better, M/M, Unrequited Crush, Unrequited Love, also tommy is the only one who knows what hanahaki is, he doesnt throw up til later but i thought i should give fair warning, just benry coughing a fuck ton, thats not till later either, uhh lemme know if there should be more tags
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-06-10
Updated: 2020-06-10
Packaged: 2021-03-04 06:27:55
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,522
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24639148
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/shugarcone/pseuds/shugarcone
Summary: Hanahaki DiseaseFrom Wikipedia the free encyclopediaHanahaki Disease is a condition that causes flowers to take root and grow within the lungs and cardiovascular system.[1] This can cause the sufferer to cough up or vomit flower petals or even whole blossoms, becoming worse as the disease progresses. The plant will eventually grow large enough to render breathing impossible if left untreated, causing death.[1][2] There is also no set flower that blooms in the lungs, and more than one type may take root.[citation needed]
Relationships: Benrey & Tommy Coolatta, Benrey/Gordon Freeman, bubby/coomer if you squint but this aint about them
Comments: 18
Kudos: 161





	Lingering Presence

**Author's Note:**

> Partial credit to lethalbreadkills on tumblr, who drew some doodles that ultimately inspired... this.  
> The working title was "wtf gay little benry has hanahaki disease thats kinda cringe bro", and although I had several people tell me not to change it, I'd much rather something less insensitive sounding. It is a disease after all, even if it's a fictional one.  
> I'm only a little bit sorry.

** Hanahaki Disease **

From Wikipedia the free encyclopedia

**Hanahaki Disease** is a condition that causes flowers to take root and grow within the lungs and cardiovascular system.[1] This can cause the sufferer to cough up or vomit flower petals or even whole blossoms, becoming worse as the disease progresses. The plant will eventually grow large enough to render breathing impossible if left untreated, causing death.[1][2] There is also no set flower that blooms in the lungs, and more than one type may take root.[citation needed]

Generally, the cause of Hanahaki Disease is unrequited love. Why or how this causes the disease is still unknown.[3] Hanahaki Disease is not contagious, and cannot be transmitted from person to person. There are also genetic factors that play into whether a person is susceptible to contract the disease or not.[4]

Hanahaki can be cured through surgical removal of the plants' roots, but this excision also has the effect of removing the patient's capacity for romantic love. It may also erase the patient’s feelings for and memories of the enamoured.[3] It can also be cured by the reciprocation of the victim's feelings. These feelings cannot be feelings of friendship but must be feelings of genuine love.[1][3]

 **Contents** [hide]

1 Signs and Symptoms

2 Causes

2.1 Unrequited Love

2.2 Evolutionary Considerations

3 Diagnosis

4 Treatment

4.1 Returning Affections

4.2 Surgery

5 Epidemiology

6 History

7 Society and Culture

8 See Also

9 References

10 External Links

……

It didn’t happen instantly. Benry didn’t believe in love at first sight anyway. It grew slowly, ache starting small deep in his lungs. The science team was well on their way into their adventure when he first felt the urge to cough. It was quiet, almost as if he was clearing his throat. He was surprised to feel something smooth and flat in his mouth. He pulled it from his mouth and examined it; a little yellow flower petal. Strange. He didn't really know what to think so he paid it no mind at the time.

He found the urge to cough happening again not long after. More of an actual cough, this time there were several petals, a few even slipping from his mouth as he coughed. Ok, what the hell? Yellow again, he watched as they fluttered to the floor. No one else seemed to notice it, so he said nothing. It was still in the back of his mind though.

Benry quickly learned three things. The first was that coughing up flower petals might hurt sometimes. The second was that trying to hold in the urge to cough hurt worse than coughing, and that happened every time. The third was that with all the coughing he was doing, someone was bound to notice.

"Benry, you’re coughing a lot," Tommy pointed out. Way to draw attention to it, Tommy. Benry wasn’t upset with him, just worried what the others would say.

"It's nothing," Benry deflected.

Gordon stopped and turned to face Benry with an inquisitive look on his face. For some reason Benry felt the urge to cough.

Gordon hummed in thought. "Now that I think about it, Benry, are you alright? You haven’t caught a cold or something, have you?" They had just been swimming in "water" not too long ago.

"I’m fine-" Benry started to say, but it devolved into a sudden coughing fit. This was the worst so far, it lasted several seconds and hurt the most out of the times he’d coughed up until now. He haistily covered his mouth with a hand.

Gordon winced. "Please don’t cough into your hand," he said, clearly annoyed as he turned back around to continue leading the team. He turned just in time to miss the flurry of yellow petals that flew from Benry’s mouth as his coughing worsened. But Tommy saw, and his heart sank.

Tommy had seen this before. It hadn’t ended well.

……

It was time to rest, and Tommy was pretending to sleep. He waited and waited, wanting to be sure that the others were sleeping before he talked to Benry. He had a right to know if he didn't already.

Once Tommy deemed it to be safe, he stirred from his resting spot and started to get up as quietly as possible. He stopped when he saw Benry was still awake and sitting on a crate. He quickly looked around at the others to make sure they were asleep. They were, and he left out a soft sigh of relief.

Benry's throat began to hum as orange bubbles of sweet voice were tossed into the air. Tommy didn't think the others would wake from that so he finally got up and approached the security guard.

"Hm? Can't sleep Tommy?" Benry said as he noticed the other walking over.

Tommy rested an arm on the crate. "I'd- I-I could say the same for you, Benry."

"I don't need sleep, remember?" He plucked a splintered bit of wood off of the crate's frame.

"It's still good for you." Tommy wasn't about to argue anyway, if he had been asleep Tommy would have had to wake him anyway. This was preferable.

Benry tried to chuckle but coughed instead, this time having pink and red petals falling from his breath. This seemed to surprise Benry. The petals up until now had been yellow.

"Benry, you're coughing up flowers," Tommy said, always good at stating the obvious. "You- don't you know what that means?"

He didn't. This whole thing had been bothering him since it started. But if Tommy knew he wanted to know. "Whatsit mean, Tommy?"

Tommy looked sad. It made Benry nervous when he hesitated to answer.

"Benry, when I was in college there- there was this guy, he was a senior. He- He had his whole life ahead of him!" Tommy already sounded like he was getting upset, and Benry couldn’t fathom why. "One day he started coughing up flowers. Someone told me he had a rare disease. I don’t remember what it was called but it started with a- with an H, I think. I looked it up on Wikipedia so I know its real. It’s real okay?"

Oh. He seemed to actually want a response. Benry answered, "Well if its on Wikipedia… Why are you making a point to tell me its real? If it’s happening to me then of course it's real."

Tommy hesitated. It worried Benry. "Mm. Benry. You have to tell me the truth when I ask you this." That worried Benry even more. "Do you have a crush on Dr. Freeman?"

"What?!" That was not the question Benry expected at all. "What does that have to do with anything?"

"Benry, listen to me." He tried not to get loud so as not to wake the others, his tone remaining stern. "I’m- I’m- I'm not a medical doctor, but I am a scientist. Anyone can edit Wikipedia, that’s why I only do what I read in books. I looked up this disease in books. It’s real. Benry-" Tears pricked at his eyes. "You’re my best friend. But you might- you could die from this. You need to tell me the truth. Do you have a crush on Dr. Freeman?"

Benry paused. Tommy’s serious. He’s actually serious about this. "What would it have to do with anything?"

Tommy sighed, slightly exasperated. "This disease, it makes flowers grow inside you when you have an unrequited love. There are only two ways to cure it. The first is to make them love you back somehow. The second is s-surgery, but that has massive side effects, and its a very specific procedure that I don’t think any of us are really qualified for anyway. If you don’t- if it's left untreated, the flowers will grow so much that you’ll die of suffocation. Benry you have to believe me."

Benry thought on this information. Other than the fact that this disease sounded pretty far out there, he had no reason to distrust Tommy, especially if he had really researched this through. Besides, he didn’t have any other explination for this strange phenomenon.

"Promise you won’t tell anyone. I mean anyone."

"Of course, Benry."

"I-" Benry gulped, feeling a cough rising in his throat. He tried to ignore it, but the sharp pain in his chest forced it out of him. It was even more painful than the last one, and the coughing actually racked his body slightly. Pink and red petals flew from his throat out onto the floor. 

Tommy reached up and rubbed Benry’s back as he watched helplessly. It hurt to see this happen to his friend. 

When Benry had finished he spit the remaining petals on the ground, wiping a bit of liquid from his mouth. He looked at his hand. Blood. Fuck… 

He turned to Tommy. “Okay so I might have a cringe crush on Gordon. Not really much I can do about it anyway.” He paused, silence falling between them. “…What happened to that guy?” he finally asked.

Tommy looked at his shoes. Benry knew he didn’t need to answer.


End file.
